August 22, 2025 — Alaska’s current subsistence fishing program can continue without changes, according to a Wednesday opinion by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The ruling allows the federal government to continue offering preferential fishing rights to rural Alaskans — mostly Alaska Natives — who live a subsistence lifestyle.
That preference exists only in public waters under federal control, not in state waters, because federal law requires the preference but the Alaska Constitution forbids state officials from implementing it.
In their 40-page opinion, the judges said that recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings do not mandate a change in the way the state and federal governments split management of fish and game in Alaska.